Tour de France: Marcel Kittel wins the German duel in Saint-Malo in messy sprint finish

Tom Veelers crashes in the final metres after collision with Mark Cavendish

Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) took his second victory in the 2013 Tour de France as he won the tenth stage, between Saint-Gildas-des-Bois and the port of Saint-Malo, in an untidy bunch sprint. The 25-year-old German won the battle with his compatriot André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) in a close finish, as he just managed to throw his bike ahead of the national champion as they hit the line.

“You could say that it is more satisfying today because all the big sprinters were there at the finish,” said Kittel at the finish. “I'm really proud that we won today and that everyone was there for the finale and that I could beat even Greipel in close race to the line. I have to say a big thank you to my team-mates they did an amazing job and it's just a pity that Tom [Veelers] crashed so bad in the last 100 metres. I really hope that he's okay and that we can concentrate on the next stages.

Behind the two Germans, British champion Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) held off green jersey Peter Sagan (Cannondale) in the race for third, having tangled with Kittel’s lead out man Veelers as he opened up his sprint, with the Dutchman coming down in the road.

“Apparently [Mark] Cavendish bumped into Tom and he lost control of his handlebars and crashed…” Kittel explained. “I cannot imagine that Cavendish did that on purpose, it just happens sometimes in a hectic final. Every sprinter wants to come to the front when he comes to the line and I hope that he's okay.

“You can see it... Tom Veelers crashed and at that moment I had a bit of a gap to André Greipel; when I started my sprint, I could use his slipstream to get up to his wheel and then to pass him just before the line. It was very close.

“You can see that Cavendish really bumped into the handlebar of Tom but it doesn't look like he does it on purpose. Tom swings off to the right and Cavendish to the left – and it's just very unlucky at that moment.

“This is a big result for me, for the whole team,” Kittel added. “It's great that we showed – in a sprint of one-against-one – that I can beat him and I'm very proud of it.”

The 197km stage saw a long breakaway from Jérôme Cousin (Europcar), Juan José Oroz (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Luis Angel Maté (Cofidis), Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Julien Simon (Sojasun), who escaped in the opening kilometre and were able to quickly get five minutes clear.

The sprinters were determined not to let the opportunity for a stage win slip away however, after two tough stages in the mountains, and the quintet was kept under control for the entire stage. Into the final 20km, with the peloton on their heels, Westra was left behind by the other four and, despite a determined effort the break was all over with five kilometres to go.

From that point on it was a battle between the sprinters’ teams, with Lotto-Belisol seemingly having the upper hand, but Kittel just managed to overhaul Greipel before they hit the line.

Thankfully nobody else was brought down by Timmer’s crash; although there were initially some gaps in the peloton behind him - which had already been reduced by its high speed coastal finale - they were adjudged to have been caused by the crash and so everybody was awarded the same time. Maillot Jaune Chris Froome finished alongside all of his overall rivals in the same group, with the top of the general classification remained unchanged.

A flat stage for the breakaway riders but a chance for the sprinters too

With the Pyrénées behind it, the Tour had transferred north during the race’s first rest day for a flat stage that suited the sprinters. The route would traverse the western region of Brittany from north to south, as it headed towards the next major rendezvous of the race, and the following day’s individual time trial.

Cousin, Oroz, Maté, Westra and Simon escaped in the opening kilometre, and with Oroz the best placed overall, more than an hour behind Froome in 93rd position, Team Sky was happy to let them go.

The quintet was five minutes clear after just 29km, and the gap reached its maximum of 5’05” at the 32km point. Simon, from the regional capital Rennes, was soon racing through his home region on very familiar roads.

Omega Pharma-Quick Step, Lotto-Belisol and Argos-Shimano each put a man on the front to help Team Sky police the break, and - despite the five leaders covering 42.5km in the first hour - cut the gap to four minutes by the 65km point. There it was to stay for most of the stage - as it passed through the home towns of past Tour winners Louison Bobet and Bernard Hinault - with the four big teams keeping the fugitives at arm’s length.

Into the second half of the stage the gap began to gradually fall but, with 90km to go, it was still at 3’46”.

Maté took the intermediate sprint, in Le Hinglé with 69.5km to go, to earn a rare prize for his Cofidis team in the 2013 race. The peloton behind the quintet was beginning to accelerate meanwhile, as the sprinters’ teams began to position their fastmen for the fight for the remaining points.

Greipel beat green jersey Sagan and British champion Cavendish to the line to take the ten points for sixth place, and the gap to the leaders had fallen to 2’25” as the German champion crossed the line.

Westra pulled clear of the others to take the one classified climb of the day, the Côte de Dinan with 55km to go, and the Dutchman continued alone after the summit. The others managed to rejoin the Dutchman within a few kilometres, and the gap to the peloton began to creep out again as the chase eased up a little following the sprint.

With 50km to go it was 2’33”, and crept up to 2’41” a few kilometres later, before the pursuit of the five leaders began again.

The peloton approaches the coast and the big names get nervous

With 35km to go, as the peloton began to approach the north Breton coast, several of the general classification riders were brought forward by their teams, joining the sprint trains of Omega Pharma-Quick Step, Lotto-Belisol and Argos-Shimano at the front. The resulting acceleration of the peloton saw the gap to the leaders slashed to just 1’10” as they entered the final 30km.

Just a kilometre later the quintet’s lead fell below a minute, and the peloton began to spread across the road as it slowed down to avoid catching the break too soon. With capture imminent, however, Oroz attacked the others with 28km to go, on a steady drag, but was quickly chased down as Westra led the chase.

The renewed impetus in the group, along with the peloton holding back, saw the gap grow a little as the race approached the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, with the finish of the following day’s time trial visible across the water.

With 25km to go though, the pace of the peloton began to rise, as Saxo-Tinkoff, RadioShack-Leopard, BMC Racing and Belkin began to work on the front.

It was Saxo-Tinkoff that took up the pace on the coast road, which saw the gap dropped significantly in the next kilometres. With 21km to go Omega Pharma-Quick Step took over, but the five leaders were just 28 seconds clear by that point and in sight as they hit a long, straight road.

There was a small crash on a roundabout, shortly before the 20km banner, with Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil-DCM) among the fallers. Up ahead, Cousin attacked the break and, as the others chased him down, Westra was unable to stay with them and drifted back to the peloton.

The chase was still being controlled by the teams of the general classification riders, with Team Sky, Saxo-Tinkoff and RadioShack-Leopard each leading their own train on separate parts of the road.

Saxo-Tinkoff won the battle for control again, despite a challenge from Garmin-Sharp and, as the peloton sped along the coast road, it slashed the break’s lead to just 15 seconds with 15km to go. Team Sky and Garmin-Sharp were still very much in attendance, and took over two kilometres later, but Argos-Shimano was getting organised on the right side of the road.

The break won’t be caught but the sprinters will have their day

The four leaders were refusing to lie down, however, on the rolling road along the coastal headlands, with Cousin’s efforts stealing a few more seconds from Garmin-Sharp. David Millar was leading the chase, with stage nine winner Dan Martin tucked in behind him, and the former British champion slashed the gap to just a few seconds as the race passed under the ten kilometre banner.

Cousin was still leading the break up front, and was still managing to persuade the others to come through to work, making the peloton work for those last few seconds. On a small rise with eight kilometres to go Simon accelerated and pulled the gap open again, just as Millar sat up on the front of the peloton.

This was the cue to the sprinters’ teams to organise themselves again, however, with Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Orica-GreenEdge coming up in force. Passing through the outskirts of Saint-Malo with less than six kilometres to go Maté, and then Simon tried to force themselves away, but the peloton finally streaked past them shortly before the five kilometre banner.

Orica-GreenEdge was soon overtaken by Omega Pharma-Quick Step, but Saxo-Tinkoff and Argos-Shimano were both fighting for the lead with four to go. Into the final three kilometres though, Orica-GreenEdge took back the lead, only to be overtaken by Lotto-Belisol.

Greipel’s team led into the final two kilometres, with Omega Pharma-Quick Step line up behind, but Lotto-Belisol was not about to concede to its Belgian rival. Argos-Shimano moved up as the flamme rouge approached, but still Lotto-Belisol refused to give up the lead as it entered the final kilometre.

Gert Steegmans (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) then surged forward, but his sprinter Cavendish was tucked in behind Kittel, and Lotto-Belisol continued with its rehearsed lead out.

Greipel then launched his sprint, and the others began to fan out behind him and, as they did so Cavendish came together with Veelers and the Dutch rider came down in the middle of the road. Greipel appeared to have done enough to take the victory but, as the German champion began to fade on the approach to the line, Kittel managed to ease his way in front to take it from him.